A Culinary Couple’s Retirement Plan Helps Revitalize a Cincinnati Neighborhood
Photo by Ryan Kurtz
Brad Hughes and Karen Monzel Hughes were looking to start a new chapter in one of America’s oldest neighborhoods. As the parents of grown children, with their careers coming to a close, they were slowly planning a retirement that enveloped them in shared passions.
"We were interested in designing and developing a curated cookware store specializing in European and American kitchen products," Karen says. "And we were adamant about placing the store at Findlay Market and aligning it with the Cincinnati Streetcar."
As Ohio’s oldest and longest-running commerce hub, Findlay Market has stood since the 1800s, but has only recently reemerged as a gathering place for the public. When Brad and Karen pinpointed the area as a place to retire back in 2015, it had plenty of room for improvement. "The Findlay Market district was primed to reawaken after years of neglect," Brad says. "Our plan centered around finding contiguous properties that could be developed in two phases. The first phase would center around a building with retail on the first floor and residential rental apartments on the upper floors. Phase two would build a modern ‘age in place’ home for ourselves."
